PrinciplesofEffectiveResearch

1、Occasional thoughts by physicist Michael Nielsen Principles of Effective Research: Part XI | Main | Blogroll July 27, 2004Principles of Effective ResearchThe entire essay is here in postscript format.For the entire essay in html format, click on continue reading, below.Principles of Effective ResearchBy Michael A. NielsenJuly 2004OverviewThis essay is intended as a letter to both myself and others, to hold up in the sharpest possible terms an ideal of research I believe is worth working toward.

2、Ive deliberately limited the essay to 10 pages, hoping that the resulting omissions are compensated by the forced brevity. This is a rather personal essay; its not the sort of thing Id usually make publicly available. Ive made the essay public in order to heighten my commitment to the project, and in the hope that other people will find it stimulating, and perhaps offer some thoughts of their own.A few words of warning. My primary audience is myself, and some of the advice is specific to my care

3、er situation *, and therefore may not be directly applicable to others. And, of course, its all just my opinion anyway. I hope, however, that itll still be stimulating and helpful.* Im a theoretical physicist; I lead a small research group at a large Australian University; I have a permanent position, with no teaching duties for the next few years; I have several colleagues on the faculty with closely related interests.The philosophy underlying the essay is based on a famous quote attributed to

4、Aristotle: We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit. Underlying all our habits are models (often unconscious) of how the world works. Im writing this essay to develop an improved personal model of how to be an effective researcher, a model that can be used as the basis for concrete actions leading to the development of new habits.Fundamental principlesThe fundamental principles of effective research are extremely similar to those for effectiveness in any other pa

5、rt of life. Although the principles are common sense, that doesnt mean theyre common practice, nor does it mean that theyre easy to internalize. Personally, I find it a constant battle to act in accord with these principles, a battle requiring ongoing reflection, rediscovery and renewed commitment.Integrating research into the rest of your lifeResearch is, of course, only a part of life, and must be understood in relation to the rest of life. The foundation of effective research is a strong moti

6、vation or desire to do research. If research is not incredibly exciting, rewarding and enjoyable, at least some of the time, then why not do something else that is? For the purposes of this essay, Ill assume that you already have a strong desire to do research *.* People sometimes act or talk as though desire and motivation cannot be changed. Within limits, I think thats wrong, and we can mold our own motivations. But thats a subject for another essay.Motivation and desire alone are not enough.

7、You also need to have the rest of your life in order to be an effective researcher. Make sure youre fit. Look after your health. Spend high quality time with your family. Have fun. These things require a lot of thought and effort to get right. If you dont get them right, not only will your life as a whole be less good, your research will suffer. So get these things right, and make sure theyre integrated with your research life. As an example, I once spent three years co-authoring a technical boo

8、k, and for the final eighteen months I concentrated on the book almost exclusively, to the neglect of my health, relationships, and other research. It is tempting to ask the question Was the neglect worth the benefits? But that is the wrong question, for while the neglect paid short-term dividends in increased productivity, over the total period of writing the book I believe it probably cost me productivity, and it certainly did after the book was complete. So not only did I become less fit and

9、healthy, and see my relationships suffer, the book took longer to complete than if Id had my life in better order.Principles of personal behaviour: proactivity, vision, and disciplineI believe that the foundation of effective research is to internalize a strong vision of what you want to achieve, to work proactively towards that vision, taking personal responsibility for successes and failures. You need to develop disciplined work habits, and to achieve balance between self-development and the actual creative research process.Proactivity and personal responsibilityEffective people are proactive and take personal responsibility for the events in their lives. They form a vision of how they want their life to be, and work toward achieving that vision. They identify problems in their lives, and work toward solutions to those problems.Isnt this obvious, banal advice? I heard a story years ago in which a

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